For many reasons, such as concerns for global warming caused by human activity, the increasing cost and potential eventual lack of availability of oil and natural gas, even the shortage of water for hydroelectric power, there is great interest in cost-effective methods and materials for providing energy. Much focus is brought to bear on renewable energy sources, especially upon electricity generated using photovoltaic panels. At the present time the widespread use and installation of electric capacity from solar equipment is hampered by many factors. Present solutions suffer from poor efficiency, short product lifetimes, a poor business model, and consumer resistance to a substantial up-front cost that may not be recovered if the consumer does not continue living in a facility equipped with solar equipment long enough to recoup the capital costs.
Efficiency, or lack of it, is primary in these problems. For example, referring to FIG. 1, the current state of the art provides a number of solar panels configured in a series arrangement, the power from the panels then converted from direct current to alternating current. However the efficiency of the string of panels is dramatically degraded by diminished output by any one of the series-connected panels. Sources of diminished output range from bird droppings to shade or partial shade of a portion of the series of panels from overhanging trees.
FIG. 2 is an example of grid-connected photovoltaic systems, wherein the power provided by the solar system is driven into the grid system of a utility. A representative configuration of a system according to the prior art 202 shows a plurality of panels with a single inverter for converting the direct current provided by the panels in to alternating current electrical power. A representation of an example embodiment of the present invention is shown as system 204. Note that each panel of 204 includes an individual converter.
The Kernahan '025 patent application discloses a two-phase system of power generation. Commercial power generators provide three phase high voltage electrical power to the power grid. What is needed is an array converter configured to provide three phase power from photovoltaic panels.